Critical Race Theory

Critical race theory (CRT), which originated in the legal community, elucidates the relationship between social structure and White privilege by looking at how race and power intersect. According to CRT, the self-interest of Caucasians determines the allowance and retrenchment of civil rights. Therefore, CRT rejects [Page 115]the notion that racism can be abolished through the legal system because racism is deemed necessary for the maintenance of the socioeconomic structure in the United States. The central principles of CRT fall into six categories: racism as a norm, economic determinism, antiliberalism, interest convergence, revisionism, and experience-based narratives.

The central tenet of CRT is that racism is normal, as evidenced by the everyday experiences of raced groups (i.e., Native Americans, African Americans, Latinos, and Asians). The theory states that racism is a normative structural feature in the United States that serves as a means to delineate and uphold privilege. Accordingly, economic determinism is the driving force behind racism because racism is a mechanism used to justify the inequitable distribution of resources and the exploitation of raced groups. Therefore, attitudes and behaviors that support racial inferiority serve a practical purpose. Consequently, CRT rejects the belief that racism can be eradicated through antiracism education or civil rights programs because such appeals only alleviate overt forms of racism but leave the race-based socioeconomic caste system intact.

The CRT model challenges the effectiveness of incremental steps toward civil rights. It also questions liberalism, the belief that the United States was founded on principles of reason and rationality. Because liberalism attempts to uphold the idea that citizens are defined by their individual merit rather than by their group affiliation, race neutrality is considered a reasonable alternative to race consciousness. Liberalists believe that appealing to constitutional law and the moral fabric of U.S. citizens will force the collapse of racism. However, CRT confronts this belief in race neutrality and points out that, historically, White privilege has been and remains institutionalized through legal precedence. Therefore, CRT views the color-blind argument as inherently flawed; indeed, CRT argues that race neutrality promotes race-based structural inequality.

According to CRT, civil rights gains are a matter of interest convergence. The pioneering theorist Derrick Bell stated that interest convergence occurs when the needs of raced groups are aligned with the self-interests of Caucasian Americans. Therefore, any benefits awarded to raced groups are granted by default. Furthermore, such benefits are subject to retrenchment if Caucasians feel threatened. Advocates of CRT point to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas decision as a key example of the ebb and flow of civil rights gains. Although it was championed as the pinnacle of civil rights jurisprudence, in actuality, the desegregation mandate faced fierce resistance, to the extent that segregated schools remain an impermeable feature in the United States. Some CRT advocates argue that the Brown decision served the purpose of maintaining a semblance of democratic social order and equality during an era of growing communist dominance. In essence, Brown protected the self-interests of Caucasian elites while appeasing African Americans seeking equality through integration.

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